Improvement in obstetrical supporters



L UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ABIATHAR PoLLARD, or AU SABLE, AND sIMEoN MINKLER, oE cHAZY,

- NEW YORK. 4

IMPROVEMENT IN OBSTETRICAL SUPPOIIRTERS.v

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 6,385, dated April 24, 1849.

To all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that we, ABIATHAR POLLARD, of the town of Au Sable, county of Clinton, and State of New York, and SIMEON MINK- LER, of the town of Ohazy, county of Clinton, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Machine forthe Delivery of Partnrient Females in all Natural Labors, to be called Pollard t Minklers Obstetrical Supporter, and we do hereby declare that the following is a clear, full, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a perspective View. Fig. 2 is a back-pad; Fig. 3, a knee-pad; Fig. 4, one of the handles. Fig. 5 shows the instrument in use.

'A is a pad to hold and support the back.

B is a strap passing through two loops on the back-pad, having a buckle b on each end buckling back into the strap approximating thelback-pad,enablingtheaccoucheurtoadapt it to the length of the thigh of any person with great facility and also forming two loops which pass overtheknees andhold them iirmly and with great ease. The center of this strap being attached to the back-pad by two loops, it only requires an extension of the thighs on the pelvis to a certain degree to give any amount of pressure and support that the back and knees require during the process of parturition.

vC C are two sliding pads attached to the straps B that pass over the knees to prevent the pressure of the strap from causing pain and uneasiness to the knee.

D D are two handles, having each a strap F. made fast to each end of the handles, and these straps pass through the loops of the knee-pad and aiford additional support to the patient by allowing'her to pull on them with her hands as hard or as lightly as she may choose.

F F are two straps attached to the one passing over the knee at each end, and they pass directly under the foot of the patient, having a buckle on one end, by which means the length of the strap may readily be adapted to the length of the leg of any person from the knee to the foot. They are to prevent the possibility of the loops that pass over the knee from slipping off when the patient pulls hard on the handles.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use our instrument, we will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

. The back-pad is constructed of a brass plate covered with leather on the outside and cushioned on the inside. The straps B E F may be made of any leather or other material of sufficient strength to hold the amount of force applied to them. The buckles b b on the side or main straps must be very strong, as healthy and muscular females apply a very great amount of force to them.

The use and benefit claimed for this instrument are- First. From the support it affords to the patient it increases the power of the voluntary muscles called into action in the mechanism of labor embracing the abdominal and respiratory muscles.

Secondly. Notonlydoes itincreasethe power and efficiency of the pains,but from the support so well adapted and applied to the back it mitigates the severity of them to very great extent.

Thirdly. rllhe ease with which we can adapt the angle of direction to the axes of the pelvis-that is to say, when the head of the child passes obliquely forward and strikes upon the os pubis the patient may be directed to pull herself forward by the handles, which will give a backward direction to the head, dislodge itfrom the os pubis, and it will then enter the superior strait and pass on. If the head take a backward direction and strike upon the promontory of the os sacrum, the patient may be directed to carry herself backward, which will give aforward direction to the head, dislodge it from that situation, and the same result will take place, as described above; consequently there will be no loss of pains, as the pains could avail nothing while the head was in either of the wrong positions abovementioned.

Fourthly. We dispense entirclywiththe services of assistants, (except the nurse to take care of the mother and child after delivery,) the instrument having the power to give more and better support than all the assistants that could be gathered around her, relieving not only the patient in her suffering, but also the assistants from a great amount of toil, fatigue and labor, being not only exceedingly disagreeable, but many times dangerous t0 delicate females.

Now what We claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The combination and arrangement, as described, of the pads, straps, and handles which make up the above-described instrument denominated an obstetrical supporter, whether the said instrument be constructed in the manner above described or in any other mode substantially the same by which analogous results shall be produced, as set forth.

ABIATHAR POLLARD. SIMEON MINKLER. Vitnesses:

A. PREscoTT, ADAM WESTON. 

